IONA had to have her leg amputated when she was six, but now it's been replaced with a dancing blade, she's a determined young gymnast with a lot of talent and a can-do attitude.

SHOWING off her gymnastics skills, Iona Hay is just like any other energetic girl of 11.

That is until you realise that the lively youngster, whose enthusiasm is as infectious as her smile, has a prosthetic blade where her right lower leg should be.

Iona got her first blade recently and is delighted at the new lease of life it has given her.

“My prosthetic leg can feel quite heavy when I’m doing sport and this blade is brilliant,” she said.

“It’s been specially designed for me to have extra support at the heel, which helps me balance when I’m on the beam. It definitely helps me be better at gymnastics.”

As a six-year-old she developed cancer and had to have her leg amputated just two years after her mum died of the same disease.

Iona, who has a twin, Niamh, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma – a type of bone cancer – in 2008.

Her right leg was amputated below the knee as a result.

The youngster, from Jordanhill, Glasgow, loves showing off her moves to other children and their parents who are in a similar situation and contemplating what life will be like after an amputation.

Iona has always been enthusiastic about sport and hobbies and – once she recovered from chemotherapy and her operation – she threw herself into physiotherapy and all activities.

And despite what his family has endured, dad Steven, 43, prefers to just get on with life.

The Hay family were rocked by tragedy when mum Fiona, an ophthalmologist, died from cancer in 2007, leaving Steven and Iona grief-stricken along with Niamh and older brothers Peadar, 13, and Hamish, 16.

Iona’s diagnosis less than two years later was a crushing blow but the family simply got on with it.

Steven said: “It was very hard to be told that Iona would lose her leg – and I had to tell her that – but she’s such a fighter that we had to be as well.

“She came home from hospital and told the other kids that her leg would be amputated and she’d get a false one that might be even faster.

“Hamish said, ‘So when you run you’ll go round in circles’.

“In our family it’s a mix of being matter-of-fact and encouraging everyone to do their best, so we wouldn’t be doing Iona any favours by treating her differently.”

Alison Morton is Iona’s prosthetist at Westmarc, the Glasgow-based NHS prosthetics service, and believes her to be the only possible choice in trialling the blade.

She said: “Since she became an amputee, Iona has been simply fantastic in her response to the treatment.

“We have about 20 children with lower limb amputations and Iona is an inspiration to all of them and to adults as well – she’s running, doing gymnastics, school sports, hockey, riding and dancing.

“Amputees with that sort of attitude do the best and, when Iona first started coming here, she worked so hard and did all the exercises her physiotherapist showed her, so she had great results and her balance is amazing.”

Prosthetic blades have been showcased by many world-class athletes but these tend to be adults, so Alison found the concept of one being designed for children very exciting.

She said: “Ossur, the company that supplies us with blades for adults, suggested designing one for a child and I showed them videos of just how active Iona is.

“The company offered to design a prototype for free, which was brilliant.”

It took Iona no time at all to decide that the blade was a tremendous asset, especially in gymnastics.

Angela Turner is the British national coach for disabilities gymnastics and works with City of Glasgow Gymnastics Club, on top of her day job as research fellow in disability studies at Strathclyde University. She says that the club offer access without barriers.

Angela said: “Everyone trains at the same time and kids with disabilities are treated like everyone else.

“Iona does floor, vault, beam and bars and this new blade is ideal for her.

“We’ve never had a kid with a prosthetic limb who’s achieved so much so quickly and she’s got so much potential. I’m sure we’ll see her in the British squad yet.”

Steven can see how she must be an inspiration to others, especially parents dreading the thought of their child going through an amputation, and he believes in encouraging Iona to try everything she wants.

He said: “She went skiing with Disability Snowsport and that was another heart-in-the-mouth moment watching her whizz down the slope.

“I really didn’t think she was going to be able to make the turn to stop but I needn’t have worried – she never says, ‘I can’t do that’, so neither can we.”

Three years ago, Steven married Gillian and the family celebrated the arrival of twins René and Matilda last December, adding another layer of happy chaos to a very busy household.

Gillian said: “We’re very proud of Iona and we’re also proud of the rest of them. Iona has been very lucky in the great care and support she’s got but she’s also worked very hard herself.” Meanwhile, Iona is revelling in her new role, helping other kids in the same position as her.

She said: “When I was told I was going to lose my leg, there was no one to talk to who’d had the same thing happen to them, so that’s why I like to do it.

“I don’t just say I can run and dance and do gymnastics – I actually show them because I wish I’d had someone to show me what I’d still be able to do.”

And she shows no signs of self-pity, saying: “The only thing I can’t do now is point my foot when I’m dancing but that’s OK. I can still cartwheel.”